Salted Caramel Brownies

The swirls of caramel enveloped in blankets of chocolate velvet comprising this dessert really do render it more of a truffle than a brownie. These do need to be refrigerated before slicing and serving, but they could also be served after freezing to give a more solid, frosty result.

Recipe from Poires au Chocolat

Salted Caramel Brownies
Makes about 30

Ingredients:
For the salted caramel:
75g caster sugar
50ml double cream
10g unsalted butter
1/8 tsp salt
For the brownie:
100g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
75g golden syrup
275g dark chocolate, broken
4 eggs
70g plain flour, sifted
sprinkling of cocoa nibs or chopped quality chocolate

Method:
1. For the caramel, heat the sugar in a heavy based saucepan, and without stirring, allow to melt into a deep-golden colour. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in about 1/3 of the cream. Whisk in the rest of the cream and return to the heat, if necessary, to re-melt any re-solidified sugar. Mix in the butter and salt and set aside.

2.Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/mark 2 and line  a 20x20x2.5cm baking pan with greaseproof paper.

3. For the brownie, place the butter, sugars and golden syrup in a saucepan and heat gently until completely melted. Remove from the heat and mix in the chocolate, stirring until melted and well combined. Beat in the eggs and then fold in the flour.

4. Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and pour over the caramel in dollops. Run a knife through the mixture to swirl the caramel and batter together. Bake for 20 minutes, or until just about set. Remove from the oven, leave to cool and chill in the fridge overnight or allow to firm up in the freezer. Slice into portions.